Conventional telecommunications switching systems employ centralized switching facilities which result in undesirable lengthy switching paths. Therefore, it is desirable to implement distributed telecommunications switching systems which do not require centralized switching facilities. However, elaborate management systems normally are required in order to provide users and operators with the ability to control, configure and monitor the various switches and other components which make up a typical distributed telecommunications switching system. For example, an operator or user must be able to control, configure and monitor a distributed switching system's individual application cards, as well as the communication busses which interconnect those application cards.
Conventional distributed telecommunications switching systems use dedicated Operational Support Systems ("OSSs") and relatively complex and cryptic command-driven user interface systems in order to provide users with the ability to control, configure and monitor distributed switching systems. These dedicated OSSs are cumbersome to develop, maintain, upgrade and expand upon. Additionally, the command-driven user interfaces are relatively cryptic, cumbersome, non-intuitive and difficult for users to learn and use.
Additionally, conventional distributed telecommunications switching systems typically use security systems to prevent unauthorized users from accessing, configuring or monitoring the distributed switching systems. These conventional security systems are generally file-based systems, in that they protect the switching system from unauthorized access by providing each user access to only certain designated files. Such file-based security systems are relatively inflexible, non-intuitive, and difficult to use and to administer. In addition, these file-based systems typically are not well-suited to the implementation of so-called security user groups, which provide additional security system flexibility by allowing administrators to create an arbitrary number of user groups, the members of which each have specified levels of access to the system.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a command-based security system for telecommunications switching systems wherein users are authorized to use certain commands, as opposed to being authorized to access certain files. Because each command typically requires access to multiple files, such command-based security systems are more flexible and are easier to use and administer than are conventional file-based security systems. In addition, such command-based security systems are especially well-suited to the implementation of user groups.